Teaching vowels physically

Abstract

This paper explores issues surrounding teaching vowels physically. First the inherent difficulty of describing vowels compared to consonants is examined. Next the traditional descriptions of vowel formation by early phoneticians are presented along with other early phonetic constructs, such as the Cardinal Vowels and the vowel quadrilateral. The author argues against a blanket acceptance of these ideas. Despite being well-known among the speech teaching community, many speech science researchers have long since discredited many of these established concepts. The relevant findings are evaluated and it is maintained that there can be no exact articulator positions for vowel sounds. Nevertheless, the author argues that speech teachers should teach physical positions for vowels, as students learn more effectively when a multi-modal (tactile, visual and auditory) approach is offered. To this end, the vowel quadrilateral is offered as a tool to not only show approximate tongue positions, but also for indicating auditory qualities. As long as students remain aware that physical descriptions of vowels are imperfect, they will benefit from such instruction. The concluding discussion examines how the author likes to coach vowels in his own teaching practice and provides guidance on how to teach vowels physically without misleading students.